To me, the smartest way forward for GP2 would be to start the season in Barcelona instead of Malaysia. That will give the teams an extra six weeks to get ready. The first flyaway race should be in Montreal, with the second in New Jersey, the reasons being that a) North America is closer to Europe than Asia, and b) the races are only a week apart, which should keep costs down. Then, at the end of the season, they should do Suzuka and India. That will give them three weeks to rest a bit after the European season, and two weeks to get to India so that there is no rush. It would also go a long way towards laying down extra rubber at Buddh so that the Formula 1 drivers have more grip. Alternatively, they could do Korea and Japan, as they are closer together and only a week apart, further keeping costs down (but unlike Montreal and New Jersey – which are only 600km apart – they could not drive from Suzuka to KIC, which might complicate matters).

All of this should keep the overall costs of racing down, which would in turn allow for drivers who are talented, but lack sponsorship, to take part.

I could see Caterham moving Rossi over from FR3.5 to GP2, unless they intend to run him regularly in practice sessions next year (you can’t drive in a GP2 race if you’ve also driven in F1 practice). However if they just want to run him in the two USA races are they probably won’t have GP2 supporting them they may be OK. I’d rather they found somewhere other than Gonzalez to be his team mate though.

I do hope Lotus keep hold of Calado but I wonder what his budget situation is as he’s obviously backed by Racing Steps at the moment.

Evans to Arden makes sense too. I suspect Red Bull may keep Da Costa in FR3.5 – that seems to be their preferred category – and maybe give him a regular spot in Toro Rosso during FP1, as they did with Ricciardo/Vergne last year.

But I’d be surprised if Filippi returns for another season – he made his GP2 debut the same year as Hamilton did!

I notice you haven’t got Max Chilton on there – he did well towards the end of the season but of course there are rumours he might end up as Glock’s team mate in F1.

Do you reckon Caterham will keep Rossi in their development programme after this year, Keith? I’d be surprised personally, after him being shown up in FR3.5. He’s the right nationality, but they didn’t end up running Chandhok in the Indian race despite popular belief that they would.

Agree with those saying that the Red Bull young drivers won’t be in GP2, they haven’t bothered with it for years so I don’t see why they’d start now.

Aaro Vainio is part of Nicolas Todt’s stable so I suppose he could be in with a chance at Lotus. He tailed off a bit in GP3 towards the end of the year though.

I doubt Razia, Filippi or Chilton will return for another season. There’s a couple of others that really should be moving on too, but they might not see it the same way!

Will be surprised if Calado can find the money for another year with Lotus, sadly.

I don’t see the point in a Montreal round personally, the championship is too expensive as it is. In fact I don’t think they need any of the Asian rounds except maybe Singapore, and that only for its appeal to sponsors.

If Charles Pic succeeds Vitaly Petrov at Caterham, I’m interested to see if Caterham’s GP2 outfit will field the younger Arthur or if he will continue his association with DAMS due to his family’s Renault ties.

I can definitely see Melker swapping seats for a better team or even switiching to FR3.5 following his podium finish this year.

Also, I noticed that Jazeman Jaafar isn’t racing in Macau with Carlin, but rather TOM’S. Carlin has supported his three-year Formula 3 stint, and I had previously fancied him a candidate to race for Carlin in FR3.5. It’s worth noting that Jaafar is prominently sponsored by Petronas- which is also the title sponsor for Mercedes AMG and Toyota affiliates TOM’S. With a round in Malaysia and hefty backing (paired with a runner-up finish in BF3), I think we could see Jaafar in GP2 next year. And on a side note, Felix Serralles has announced a 2013 Formula 3 Euroseries campaign.

On Both his Facebook and Twitter pages James Calado has confirmed his plans for 2013 will become clear soon! I can’t imagine him not being in GP2, same with Max Chilton really, and I can see those two having an epic scrap for the title.

Here’s a few ideas on who might go where. I’ve tried to be as realistic as possible, but we don’t get much coverage of the junior series at all down here. It may turn to fiction halfway through.

DAMS
1 – Felipe Nasr
2 – Rio Haryanto

With Davide Vasecchi off to parts unknown in 2013, the team quickly take Felipe Nasr, pairing him up with the fast (and flush with cash) Rio Haryanto.

Lotus GP
3 – James Calado
4 – Patric Neiderhauser

Given the strong relationship between Lotus F1 and Renault, most of Lotus GP’s GP3 drivers find programmes in Formula Renault, leaving the team with a free seat in their GP2 team. They pick up Patric Neiderhauser from Jenzer’s GP3 squad, pairing him with James Calado, who finds some extra sponsorship to keep his seat.

Arden International
5 – Mitch Evans
6 – Luiz Razia

Razia is unable to secure a Formula 1 drive, and having spent four seasons in GP2, he appears unlikely to do so. Instead, Arden retain him and use him to mentor Mitch Evans directly. Razia is visibly less than thrilled with this arrangement, but it is the best seat he can get, so he keeps his mutterings to himself.

Marussia Carlin
7 – Tio Ellinas
8 – William Buller

Carlin lose Max Chliton to Formula 1 and Rio Haryanto to DAMS. They take the highly-rated Tio Ellinas at Marussia’s behest – not that they’re complaining – and put him alongside their Formula 3 stalwart, William Buller.

Racing Engineering
9 – Robert Wickens
10 – Adrian Quaife-Hobbs

Fabio Leimer goes to DTM, and does a straight swap with Robert Wickens, who finally gets a shot at GP2 and a future in Formula 1. The underperforming Berthon is replaced by Auto GP champion Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.

iSport International
11 – Marcus Ericsson
12 – Jolyon Palmer

In the face of several lineup changes for 2013, iSport play it safe by retaining Ericsson and Palmer, even if both were inconsistent and disappointing in 2012.

Caterham GP2
14 – Rodolfo Gonzalez
15 – Nigel Melker

Despite being useless in 2012, the team decide to keep Gonzalez for his money once Giedo van der Garde leaves the team. In his place, they take fellow Dutchman Nigel Melker, who has an obvious turn of speed, but lacks decent sponsorship, making Gonzalez a necessary evil to subsidise Melker’s seat.

Barwa Addax
16 – Johnny Cecotto, Jnr.
17 – Tom Dillmann

On the back of their worst season to date, Addax need to perform a miracle to get back to the front. They keep Cecotto (and his money) after he showed some promise in 2012, and take a gamble on Tom Dillmann, who was one of the big surprises when driving for Rapax.

Rapax
18 – Kevin Ceccon
19 – Facu Regalia

After being forced to watch Ricardo Teixeria trundle around in last place for a season – punishment for some unknown sin – the team decide that enough is enough and that they want to go back to the pointy end of the grid. They snatch Ceccon away from Ocean (wisely, for Ceccon), and pick up Regalia for a little extra money on the side.

Trident Racing
20 – Julian Leal
21 – Giovanni Venturini

Like Caterham, Trident keep an underperforming regular to subsidise a talented newcomer – in this case, Julian Leal stays in the team, with GP3’s Giovanni Venturini in the second seat; despite only contesting half a season in 2012, Venturini still finished thirteenth.

Ocean Racing Technology
22 – Nathanael Berthon
23 – Lewis Williamson

Tiago Monterio is less than happy with his team, following Nigel Melker’s comments that they would rather have a coffee break than do some work, and pledges to turn his team around. Lewis Williamson, eager to prove that Red Bull dropped him prematurely, takes one seat, while Nathanael Berthon picks up the other after being cut loose by Racing Engineering, leaving many people asking whether Ocean really have turned a corner, or if it’s the same old song with new lyrics.

Venezuela GP Lazarus
24 – Rene Binder
25 – Simon Trummer

Lazarus initial promise – scoring a point in their very first race – seems to be long since forgotten. Binder’s baptism of fire continues, while Trummer’s sponsors continue to pay for his seat.

Qi-Meritus Mahara
26 – Adderly Fong
27 – David Zhu

With Coloni leaving (or kicked out, depending on who you talk to), a replacement team is found in former GP2 Asia team Qi-Meritus Mahara. Despite being absent from GP2 for three years, the team has found new ownership and backing from China, as evidenced by its all-Chinese lineup – Formula 2’s David Zhu and British F3’s Adderly Fong.

PM, with all due respect, I feel it’s a little hypocritical that you shot down Ryan’s suggestions on the grounds that they were implausible yet then go to make similarly unfounded predictions yourself.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s fun and interesting to speculate and the truth is that none of us really know. But to me, the idea of a Fong-Zhu line-up at a new Meritus team does not seem any more likely than Red Bull deciding to place one of their drivers in GP2 or some of the other ideas of Ryan’s that you so firmly discounted. In that particular instance your reasoning was very solid, but unfortunately you don’t seem to have applied it to your own ideas.

@ryanwilliams I think they meant they confirmed their line-up for post-season testing, not necessarily 2013. Although Rossi is most likely going to end up there, I’m not sure Trummer will be his teammate.

@Portugoose Whoops! Should probably have read that tweet properly before posting it!
I agree with what you said about Trummer. If it actually was a 2013 driver announcement I would’ve been a bit surprised to see him at Caterham

Having seen how Lotus GP are keen on signing Daniel Abt I predict he’ll be there in 2013, although he has struggled in the post-season tests more than his GP3 rival Mitch Evans, who I believe will go to Arden.
Kevin Giovesi has showed speed in his outings for Lazarus and could be with them next year, but with such a team, needing money, you never know. Binder has impressed them and if they want to make progress they should keep him.
Nasr has only tested for Carlin so far and if he were to leave DAMS he’d most likely end up there, perhaps alongside Haryanto: I predict Carlin to be very strong.
Quaife-Hobbs could go to either Arden or Addax, but I think the latter is more likely; Rosenzweig should also go to the Spanish team, although he’s super slow.
Trummer could remain with Caterham but I don’t think so.
Trident should keep Leal and could sign Ericsson were Richelmi to leave; the Swede should be in for his last season of GP2, having failed to impress in previous years. He should remain with a small team and help them get into the midfield.
Lotus GP have tested many drivers and are undecided as to who will partner Abt. I hope it’s Calado but I doubt he can bring enough money to the team.
Canamasas, despite showing a lack of… intelligence in Singapore, has shown he’s fast and could remain with most teams.
Rossi is almost a certain pick for Caterham.
Juncadella has tested for Rapax who I’m sure hope to sign him. Unless he goes to a better team I’d like to see him in GP2.
Ocean have done no laps in both the Barcelona and Jerez tests, which seems rather worrying to me. They should be considering Ceccon above all for a 2013 seat.
Racing Engineering could go with Leimer, who has experience, and Melker, who has shown promise this year.
Palmer could remain at iSport, whilst Cecotto is likely being considered by many teams: he tested for Carlin and Arden but I’m sure another team would sgn him if they could.

@fixy I do think that’s a terrific analysis of the grid next year, but here are a few changes that I disagree with. Leimer is eyeing a DTM seat so I think his tenure in GP2 is over. For Racing Engineering, Berthon-Melker would be a pleasant line up. Haryanto could swap seats with Nasr, with DAMS running the Indonesian alongside Arthur Pic or Marcus Ericsson. Also, Facu Regalia and Daniel de Jong are likely to be on the grid next year.